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One-on-One Lunches

Materials required
Implementation procedure
Strategy in practice

  • Notepad

  • Writing utensils

  • Drawing material (optional)

  1. Determine the frequency of the one-on-one lunch sessions (e.g. daily, weekly, etc.)

  2. Establish a designated place for the lunch sessions.

  3. Explain the purpose of the lunch sessions to the students and let them know that these sessions are not mandatory

  4. At the beginning of class, share a physical or digital document for students to enroll themselves for the lunch sessions

  5. At the start of the lunch session, make the student feel comfortable by letting them know that the session is an opportunity for them to talk with you about anything that they have in mind, and is not strictly confined to academics.

  6. Consider asking general questions to engage the students but also let the students drive the conversation and interaction.

  7. Give students the option to make the most of the session in any way they choose. Allow them to be quiet if they so prefer, or talk, or draw, or even let them bring along a friend.

  8. At the end of the lunch session, thank them for their time and let them know that you are available for them and that they can reach out to you at any point of time.

Mark has set up lunch sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays with his second graders. He informs them that the lunch session will be held in Room 102 and that this will be an opportunity for the students to talk to him about anything they wish. Every Monday, he posts a paper sign-up sheet and reminds the class to put their names down for individual lunch sessions as and when they want to.

This Tuesday, he’s meeting Mary. As she enters the room, he welcomes her warmly and asks her to take a seat. He thanks her for joining him and asks her what she would like to talk about, academics or otherwise. He shows her a few art resources kept in the room and lets her know that it’s okay if she doesn’t want to talk—she can explore the art materials instead.

 

Mary doesn’t want to talk about studies today. She wants to talk to Mark about the things that interest her. She loves animals and she wants to talk about her pet rabbit at home and about how she wants to grow up and become a veterinary doctor. Mark thinks the conversation is wonderful! He takes down notes during the conversation that he thinks can be useful in helping him personalize his interaction and instruction with Mary going forward.

References:

"Melanie." (2016, October 23). Phone interview.

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